1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a Kanji conversion result amending system (where Kanji is a Chinese character) for use in a word-processor capable of processing Kanji, and more specifically to a Kanji conversion result amending system for efficiently inputting through keys characters in a multiple-word conversion method. The characters can be efficiently input by reducing the number of key presses required for a correct sentence.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, information processing devices for processing 2-byte characters in Japanese, Chinese, etc. have become popular and brought remarkable progress to information processing industries. Based on this background, is required a method of efficiently producing words containing 2-byte characters such as Kanji.
In conventional Japanese word-processors, phonetic characters are input to be converted into Kanji. That is, "*1" (kanji) is input followed by a conversion key for converting the input phonetic characters into corresponding Kanji. Hereinafter, the characters enclosed by a pair of parentheses indicate the pronunciation of the preceded Japanese word(s). Then, candidate Kanji such as "" (kanji) and "" (kanji) corresponding to the input phonetic characters are displayed on the screen. A desired Kanji is selected from among displayed Kanji group which are identically pronounced but have different meanings such as "" (kanji) and "" (kanji) by pressing the conversion key once or repeatedly to display the next candidate group or select one of a plurality of candidates.
On the other hand, there are some Kanji conversion methods such as a 1-word conversion method for converting input characters in word units, for example, "z,4 " (gijutsu) into "" (gijutsu); a two-word conversion method for converting input characters in two-word units, for example, "" (gijutsu wo) into "" (gijutsu wo); and a multiple-word conversion method for converting input characters in multiple-word units, for example, "" (gijutsu wo setsumei suru) into "" (gijutsu wo setsumei suru). Among these method, the multiple-word conversion method is the most popular at present.
Converted words need amendments frequently while being input through keys. Described below is a conventional amending operation performed during a multiple-word conversion process.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional Kanji conversion result amending method.
For example, a user first enters "" (jurainogijutsusetsumei) in phonetic characters and they are converted in a multiple-word unit. Then, the user inputs "" (no) between "" (gijutsu) and "" (setsumei). In FIG. 1, ".sub.-- " indicates the position of the cursor.
As shown in a) of FIG. 1, the user enters the phonetic characters "" (jurainogijutsusetsumei) followed by the conversion key. As a result, "" (juraino gijutsu setsumei) is obtained in a mixed form of Kanji and phonetic characters as shown in b) of FIG. 1. At this time, the cursor is preceded by "" (juraino gijutsu setsumei).
If the user wants to input "" (no) between "" (gijutsu) and "" (setsumei), he or she first presses the cancel key to return the cursor back to its initial position shown in c) of FIG. 1. Then, the user presses the tab key to position the cursor at the next word shown in d) of FIG. 1. Thus, "" (juraino) can be amended. Then the user presses the tab key again to position the cursor at the next word shown in e) of FIG. 1. Now, "" (gijutsu) can be amended.
Next, the user presses the cancel key to display the phonetic characters "" (gijutsu) shown in f) of FIG. 1. The cursor is positioned at "" (gi). Then, the user presses the cursor key to position the cursor at "" (setsu), presses the insert key to input "" (no) shown in g) of FIG. 1, presses the convert key to convert "" (gijutsuno) into Kanji shown in h) of FIG. 1, positions the cursor at the end of the processed words using the tab key shown in i) of FIG. 1 to end the amendment to the words.
In the above described conventional method, the delete, tab, cursor, and insert keys are pressed 9 times totally to insert "" (no) between "" (jurai) and "" (gijutsusetsumei) as shown in c) through i) in FIG. 1. Among the nine times of the key presses, four presses are required to specify amendment objects.
On the other hand, if "" (gijutsu) in "" (jurai no gijutsu setsumei) should be changed to "" (naiyo), then the insert key and the cursor key do not have to be pressed because "" (gijutsu) and "" (naiyo) are the same in the number of characters. Accordingly, there is no need to press the insert key and the cursor key, thereby reducing the total number of function key presses to seven. However, this is a case where a required amendment is very simple. Therefore, if the number of original pronunciation characters is different from that of the correction, then some function keys should be used a few more times.
However, in the conventional method, function keys and cursor positioning keys should be pressed many times to amend a Kanji conversion result, thereby increasing the number of key presses and taking a longer time for inputting data.
That is, when words are amended after they are converted into Kanji, function keys must be pressed a plurality of times to specify an amendment object. Then, the function keys and the cursor positioning key must be pressed a few times to enter amendments. Furthermore, the function keys should be pressed for a few more times to position the cursor at the next input position. Therefore, such a large number of key presses slows down the entire input process.